Saman Naseem at risk of imminent execution

Iranian juvenile offender, Saman Naseem, could be executed as early as 19 February 2015 for crimes allegedly committed when he was 17 years old. He was sentenced to death after an unfair trial.

The family of Saman Naseem, who is now aged 22, have received reliable information that he will be executed on 19 February. Amnesty International understands that the authorities have prevented Saman Naseem’s lawyer from pursuing the case and have not allowed him to appoint another lawyer.

Saman Naseem was sentenced to death in April 2013 by a criminal court in Mahabad, West Azerbaijan Province, for “enmity against God” (moharebeh) and “corruption on earth” (ifsad fil-arz) because of his membership of the Kurdish armed opposition group Party For Free Life of Kurdistan (PJAK), and for taking part in armed activities against the Revolutionary Guards. His death sentence was upheld by the Supreme Court in December 2013.

According to court documents, during early investigations Saman Naseem admitted firing towards Revolutionary Guards forces in July 2011. He retracted this during the first court session, saying that he had only fired into the air and had not been aware of the content of the written “confessions” he was forced to sign as he had been kept blindfolded while he was interrogated. Saman Naseem was allowed no access to his lawyer during early investigations and he said he was tortured by being hung upside down for a lengthy period of time.

 Urging the Iranian authorities to stop the execution of Saman Naseem immediately and ensure that his case is subject to a judicial review;

 Reminding them that Iran has ratified both the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which strictly prohibit the use of the death penalty against people who were below 18 years of age at the time of the crime;

 Urging them to investigate the allegation that he was tortured or otherwise ill-treated and ensure that “confessions” obtained from him under torture are not used as evidence in court.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 20 MARCH 2015 TO:

Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran

Ayatollah Sayed ‘Ali Khamenei

The Office of the Supreme Leader

Islamic Republic Street - End of Shahid Keshvar Doust Street

Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Saman Naseem started a hunger strike on 20 November 2014, along with 23 other prisoners from Iran’s Kurdish minority, in protest at the conditions in Ward 12 of Oroumieh Central Prison, West Azerbaijan Province, where political prisoners are held. In retaliation, the authorities threatened to expedite the execution of Saman Naseem and nine other men on death row. The men ended their hunger strike after 33 days, after the authorities promised to meet their demands.

Saman Naseem was arrested on 17 July 2011 after a gun battle between Revolutionary Guards and PJAK, in the city of Sardasht, West Azerbaijan Province. Court documents say that during the fight one member of the Revolutionary Guards was killed and three others were wounded. In September 2011, Saman Naseem was forced to make a “confession” which was filmed and aired on state television. He told the court that during interrogation he had been hung upside down from the ceiling while blindfolded and that the interrogators had put his fingerprints on his “confessions”, whose contents he did not know. He has also alleged that the interrogators pulled out his toenails and fingernails and subjected him to beatings which left him with bruises on his back, legs and abdomen. The court dismissed his statements and allowed the use of his “confession”.

Saman Naseem was first sentenced to death in January 2012 by a Revolutionary Court but the Supreme Court overturned the sentence in August 2012 and sent the case back for a retrial as he had been under the age of 18 at the time of the alleged crimes. During his retrial, the court once again allowed the use his “confession” and sentenced him to death.

Under the Islamic Penal Code, the execution of offenders under the age of 18 is allowed for qesas (retribution-in-kind) and hodoud (offences and punishments for which there are fixed penalties under Islamic law). However, Article 91 of the Islamic Penal Code excludes the death penalty for crimes that fall under these categories of punishment, if the juvenile offender did not understand the nature of the crime or its consequences, or if there are doubts about the offender’s mental capacity.

The use of the death penalty against juvenile offenders – those convicted of crimes committed when they were below 18 - is strictly prohibited under international law, as set out in Article 6(5) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and Article 37(a) of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), both of which Iran has ratified. Articles 37(d) and 40(2)(b)(ii) of the CRC guarantee children who have been deprived of their liberty or who are suspected of criminal offences the right to legal and other appropriate assistance in the preparation and presentation of their defence, access to which must be prompt. The best interests of the child should be a primary decision in all legal proceedings affecting children, which require particular care to ensure respect for children’s right to be free from compulsion to confess guilt or to incriminate themselves. In view of the irreversible nature of the death penalty, the proceedings in capital cases must scrupulously observe all relevant international standards protecting the right to a fair trial, including access to the services of competent defence counsel at all stages of criminal proceedings including the preliminary investigation.

Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases without exception, regardless of the nature or circumstances of the crime, the guilt, innocence or other characteristics of the offender or the method used by the state to carry out the execution. The death penalty violates the right to life as proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It is the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment.

The Iranian authorities’ threat to expedite the execution of 10 men on death row in retaliation for going on hunger strike is deplorable, said Amnesty International as it called for the death sentences to be commuted immediately.

One of the 10, Saman Naseem, was sentenced to death in 2013 for engaging in armed activities against the state after he allegedly participated in a gun battle while he was a child during which a member of the Iran’s Revolutionary Guards was killed. The 10 men are among 24 prisoners from Iran’s Kurdish minority who have been on hunger strike since 20 November 2014 in protest at the conditions of Ward 12 of Oroumieh Central Prison, West Azerbaijan Province, where political prisoners are held.

“It is truly deplorable that the Iranian authorities are playing games with the lives of these men in such a manner. Resorting to death threats and other punitive measures to quell prisoners’ hunger strikes only serves to underscore how rotten Iran’s criminal justice system is,” said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa.

“Saman Naseem was a child at the time of his alleged offence. He says he has been tortured in detention and forced to “confess”. Now, the authorities are effectively blackmailing him with the prospect of death. Executing him would be a flagrant violation of international law. His sentence must be commuted immediately.”

Amnesty International is calling for Saman Naseem’s case to be re-examined fairly without recourse to the death penalty or relying on torture-tainted evidence, and taking into account provisions of Iran’s revised Penal Code that exclude the use of the death penalty for juvenile offenders in certain situations.

Saman Naseem was arrested on 17 July 2011 when he was just 17 years old. He was held for two months at a Ministry of Intelligence detention centre in Oroumieh, West Azarbaijan Province. While there, he said he was tortured by interrogators who pulled out his fingernails and toenails, and beat him leaving bruises on his back, legs and abdomen. He also said he was forced to sign a written “confession” while blindfolded.

On 14 December, Saman Naseem was transferred to a prison clinic suffering from low blood pressure and physical weakness, but he refused to break his hunger strike. He was returned to Ward 12 the same day.

Prisoners in Ward 12 at Oroumieh Central Prison went on hunger strike to protest against a decision to transfer 40 prisoners convicted of serious crimes, such as murder and armed robbery, to their ward leading to a deterioration in their security.

In addition to execution threats, the prison authorities have also reportedly subjected those on hunger strike to beatings and other punitive practices and threatened them with transfer to remote prisons in the south of the country, so as to force them to end their hunger strike.

The prisoners, who are all members of Iran’s Kurdish minority, say that they will continue their hunger strike until the authorities put an end to the abuse of prisoners. The hunger strikers who are not on death row are serving prison sentences ranging from six months to 34 years.

“The death penalty is a cruel and inhuman punishment under any circumstances. Instead of dealing out threats of execution against these prisoners the authorities must commute their death sentences and ensure they are treated humanely,” said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui.

Background

Saman Naseem was sentenced to death on charges of “enmity against God” (moharebeh) and “corruption on earth” (ifsad fil-arz) for allegedly carrying out armed activities against Iran’s Revolutionary Guard.

He was first sentenced to death in January 2012 by the Revolutionary Court of Mahabad but the sentence was overturned by Branch 32 of the Supreme Court in August that year for lack of jurisdiction by the Revolutionary Court and because Saman Naseem was under 18 at the time of the alleged offence. His case was reverted to Branch 2 of the Criminal Court of West Azerbaijan Province for re-trial.

In April 2013 he was sentenced to death again by Branch 2 of the Criminal Court of West Azerbaijan Province. The judgement made no mention of the issue that Saman Naseem was under 18 at the time of the alleged the crime. Branch 32 of the Supreme Court subsequently upheld his death sentence in December 2013. He could be executed at any time as his death sentence has been sent to the Office of the Implementation of Sentences.

Under Iran’s revised Islamic Penal Code, passed into law in May 2013, the execution of offenders under the age of 18 is allowed under qesas (retribution-in-kind) and hodoud crimes under Islamic law, unless the juvenile offender is found to have not understood the nature of the crime or its consequences, or if there are doubts about their mental capacity.

In 2014, Amnesty International received reports of the execution of at least 14 individuals for crimes allegedly committed while they were under 18 years of age. The use of the death penalty against juvenile offenders is strictly prohibited under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention on the Rights of a Child, which Iran is a party to.

Fardin Jafarian executed in Tabriz

A close relative who preferred to remain anonymous told HRANA’s reporter: “This teenager murdered his friend at the age of 14 with no intention and due to carelessness.”

This source continued: “At the early hours of yesterday morning and at the age of 18, he was executed at Tabriz Central Prison’s enclosure after the family of the victim refused to forgive him.”

It is important to say that on 05 September, 1991, Iranian government have singed the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). This international convention was also approved by the Islamic Consultative Assembly on 20 February, 1994, and was legislated a domestic law in Iran. According to the article 37 of this treaty , death penalty, long term or life imprisonment sentences without the right to parole for under 18s are banned.

Razieh Ebrahimi faces execution

Juvenile offender Razieh Ebrahimi has been sentenced to death for the murder of herhusband in 2010 when she was 17 years old. Her death sentence has been sent to theOffice of the Implementation of Sentences, so it could be carried out at any time.

Razieh Ebrahimi was sentenced to death in 2010 under qesas (retribution-in-kind) by Branch 17 of the CriminalCourt in Ahvaz, which found her guilty of killing her husband the same year, when she was 17. She is reported tohave admitted killing her husband while he was asleep. She has said that she did so after years of being abused,physically and psychologically. Razieh Ebrahimi was married to her husband at the age of 14. Amnesty International understands that the execution of Razieh Ebrahimi was to be implemented a few monthsago, but was stopped after she told the authorities that she had committed the crime when she was 17. Her lawyerhas since submitted a retrial request to the Supreme Court on the grounds that she was under 18 at the time of thecrime. The Supreme Court has refused this request. Sentences of qesas are not open to pardon or amnesty by the Supreme Leader. Once a qesas sentence has beenupheld by the Supreme Court, it can be implemented at the request of the family of the murder victim at any time.

Please write immediately in Persian, English, Spanish or your own language: Urging the Iranian authorities to immediately halt the execution of Razieh Ebrahimi; Calling on them to ensure her case is reviewed urgently with a view to overturning her death sentence and thatany extenuating circumstances relating to allegations of domestic violence are considered; Reminding them that Iran is a state party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), both of which prohibit the use of the death penalty against people convicted of crimes committed when they were under 18; Reminding them that under Article 6(4) of the ICCPR, anyone sentenced to death shall have the right to seekpardon or commutation of the sentence.

Rasoul Haloumi asked to pay blood money

JUVENILE OFFENDER AT RISK OF EXECUTION IN IRANIranian juvenile offender Rasoul Holoumi is at risk of execution for allegedly causing fatal injuries to a boy in a fight. He was 17 years old at the time. His death sentence has been sent to the Office of the Implementation of Sentences in Ahwaz, and could be carried out at the request of the family of the deceased victim at any time. Rasoul Holoumi, now aged 22, was sentenced to death in October 2010 under qesas (retribution-in-kind) by Branch 17 of the Criminal Court of Khuzestan Province. The court convicted him of murder based on allegations that he threw a hard object at the head of Nasim Nouri Maleki during the course of a fight in September 2009. The allegations have been made by several of the people involved in the fight. The court documents indicate that Rasoul Holoumi initially admitted causing the fatal head injuries. He retracted his admission after several weeks with statements that raise doubts about the events, including the identity of the individual who struck the victim, the intentionality of the injuries caused, and even the presence of Rasoul Holoumi at the scene of the incident.Despite of his age at the time of the offence, the seriousness of the charge, and the risk of the imposition of the death penalty, Rasoul Haloumi was not given access to a lawyer during the investigative phase nor was he provided with adequate time and facilities to prepare effective defense through competent appointed counsel before and during trial. In spite of this the Supreme Court upheld the death sentence in 2010 without justifying its decision. The execution of Rasoul Holoumi was to be implemented on 4 May, but was stopped after the family of the deceased victim agreed to forgo their request for qesas if Rasoul Holoum’s family transferred the deeds of their house and farm to them and paid them 3.5 billion rials (135,323$) as diyah (blood money). Rasoul Haloumi is at imminent risk of execution as the amount of diyah asked appears to be beyond his family’s means. Sentences of qesas are not open to pardon or amnesty by the Supreme Leader, in breach of international law, but they can be temporarily stayed by the head of the judiciary in order to allow the family time to raise the requested blood money.Please write immediately in Persian, English, Spanish or your own language: Urging the Iranian authorities to immediately halt the execution of Rasoul Haloumi; Calling on them to ensure his case is reviewed urgently with a view to overturning his death sentence; Reminding them that execution of people for crimes committed under 18 is strictly prohibited under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), both of which Iran has ratified; Reminding them that under Article 6(4) of the ICCPR, anyone sentenced to death shall have the right to seek pardon or commutation of the sentence.PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 22 AUGUST 2014 TO:Leader of the Islamic Republic Ayatollah Sayed ‘Ali KhameneiThe Office of the Supreme LeaderIslamic Republic Street- End of Shahid KeshvarDoust StreetTehran, Islamic Republic of IranTwitter: @khamenei_irEmail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Salutation: Your ExcellencyHead of the Judiciary Ayatollah Sadegh Larijanic/o Public Relations OfficeNumber 4, 2 Azizi Street intersectionTehran, Islamic Republic of Iran(Subject line: FAO Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani)Salutation: Your ExcellencyAnd copies to:President of the Islamic Republic of IranHassan Rouhani, The PresidencyPasteur Street, Pasteur SquareTehran, Islamic Republic of IranEmail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Twitter: @HassanRouhani (English) and @Rouhani_ir (Persian)Also send copie

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Newsflash

"The overwhelming international consensus that the death penalty should not apply to juvenile offenders stems from the recognition that young persons, because of their immaturity, may not fully comprehend the consequences of their actions and should therefore benefit from less severe sanctions than adults. More importantly, it reflects the firm belief that young persons are more susceptible to change, and thus have a greater potential for rehabilitation than adults."

Mary Robinson, former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights